Retort for use in the low temperature distillation of carbonaceous material



April 14, 1936. R A Y ET AL 2,037,556

I RETORT FOR USE IN THE LOW TEMPERATURE DISTILLATION OF CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL Filed April 6, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS U E ROLAND Aopvm SIDNEY 'GILL'V MMQZZATTORNEYJ April 14-, 1936. R ADDY ET AL 2,037,556 RETORT FOR USE IN THE- LOW TEMPERATURE DISTILLATION OF CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 6, 1934 INVENTORS ROLAND ADDY AND SIDNEY GILL' BYMLLQMQ ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 14, 1936 UNITED STATES RETORT FOR USE IN THE LOW TEMPERA- TURE DISTILLATION OF CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL Roland Addy and Sidney Gill, Barnsley, England,

assignors to The Carlton Main Colliery Company Limited, Barnsley, England Application April 6, 1934, Serial No. 719,273 In Great Britain April 24, 1933 1 Claim.

This invention relates to retorts for use in the low temperature distillation of carbonaceous material (more particularly coal) of the kind in which there is a stationary outer chamber the outer surface of which is heated, and a movable inner member or chamber with a space between the two chambers for the reception of the carbonaceous material, the inner member or chamber being lowered in order to discharge the carbonized material. The invention relates particularly to retorts of the kind described in the specification of our earlier English Patent No. 329,464. In this earlier retort the movable inner chamber and'the stationary outer chamber are made concentric so as to leave an annular space for the reception of the carbonaceous material. The chief object of the present invention is to provide an improved construction of retort.

According to the present invention the inner and outer chambers are made of flattened shape, the walls of the said chambers being parallel for the major portion of their length (i. e. the major axis on a horizontal section) and at the ends being joined by semi-circular or V-shaped portions. The exterior of the inner chamber is provided with longitudinal ribs and the interior is provided with longitudinal webs joining the longer walls together. These webs may form compartments for the flow of heated gases.

In order that the said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, the same will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-

Figure 1 is a vertical section showing two retorts constructed in accordance with our invention,

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2 of the inner chamber only, on a reduced scale.

A, A are the aforesaid stationary outer chambers which, as described in the specification of our aforesaid earlier patent, are arranged in brickwork A of substantial thickness with spaces A A around the said chambers for the passage of heated gases which flow in the directions indicated by the arrows; the direction of flow of the said gases can, if desired, be reversed. B, B are the movable inner chambers which are so constructed as to leave between them and the outer chambers spaces for the reception of the coal or other carbonaceous material to be heated. These inner chambers are carried by a platform B which is moved up and down by hydraulic rams or presses B B The upper ends of the outer chambers A, A are closed by gastight doors A A which are opened for the purpose of feeding the carbonaceous material into the aforesaid spaces, and the said upper ends are also provided with outlet pipes A A for evacuating the evolved gases.

The inner and outer chambers are made of flattened shape as shown in Figure 2, the walls being parallel for the major portion of their length and at the ends being joined by semicircular portions. Instead of these semi-circular ends, V-shaped ends may be provided. The length of each chamber may conveniently be from four to six times its width. The exterior of the inner chamber is provided with a suitable number of longitudinal ribs B B and the in-v terior is provided with longitudinal webs B, B joining the longer walls together. Some of these webs extend to the top of the inner chamber and others do not as shown in Figure 3 so as to provide three compartments B B B each with a baffle constituted by the web that does not extend to the top of the inner chamber. The lower end of each of these compartments is provided with openings B 13 for the entry and exit of heated gases, these openings registering with corresponding openings in the outer chamber when the inner chamber is in its raised position; the latter openings in turn register with openings in the brickwork for the supply of the heated gases which flow through the inner chamber as indicated by the arrows in Figure 3. Thus all the available space within the inner chamber is utilized for heating, the carbonaceous material in the space between the inner chamber and the outer chamber being heated both externally and internally in order to obtain efficient carbonization of the said material. If only external heating of the said material is required, the inner and outer chambers would not be formed with the openings B, B" and the webs B would merely be provided for strengthening purposes.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A vertical retort for use in the low temperature distillation of carbonaceous material comprising i a stationary outer chamber of flattened shape in plan view having flat parallel side Walls joined to each other at their ends, means for heating the outer surface of the outer chamber, an inner chamber of similar shape to the outer chamber and spaced therefrom to provide a carbonizing space also of similar shape between the two chambers, means for effecting relative vertical movement between the two chambers for discharging the carbonized material, means for heating the munication with each other, and separate gas entry and exit openings for each of said com- Dartments.

ROLAND ADDY. SIDNEY GILL. 

